Trabzonspor vs Kocaelispor Prediction and Betting Tips

Trabzonspor will host Kocaelispor at the Akyazi Stadium on Monday in the opening round of the 2025-26 Super Lig campaign. The home side had mixed results in the league last season, finishing seventh in the table, three points behind the continental spots and will be targeting a much better campaign this season.

They had a slow start to their pre-season campaign but finished strongly, most recently beating Ümraniyespor 3-1 via goals from Salih Malkocoglu, Anthony Nwakaeme and Ozan Tufan. They will hope their work during the off-season is enough to earn them a winning start to the new campaign.

Kocaelispor, meanwhile, enjoyed a brilliant campaign in the Turkish second tier last season and have now been promoted to the top flight for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign. They struggled at the back end of the season, losing three of their final four matches, but held on to the top spot in the Trendyol 1. Lig.

The visitors faced Wydad Casablanca in their final pre-season outing earlier in the month, beating the Moroccan outfit 2-0, with Bruno Petkovic and Ogulcan Caglayan getting on the scoresheet in either half.

Trabzonspor vs Kocaelispor Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

Monday's game will mark the 55th meeting between the two teams. Trabzonspor have won 28 of those games while Kocaelispor have won 11 times, with their other 15 contests ending in draws.
The two teams last faced off in a league clash back in May 2009, which the hosts won 3-1 to record a fourth consecutive unbeaten outing in this fixture.
The visitors are without a clean sheet in their last five games in this fixture, a run dating back to 2001.
Kocaelispor had the best offensive record in the Turkish second tier last season with a goal tally of 68.

Trabzonspor vs Kocaelispor Prediction

Karadeniz Fırtınası ended the previous campaign with just one win in their final six competitive outings and will be targeting a stronger start to life this season. They are comfortable favorites heading into the midweek clash, but will need to be wary of complacency to get the job done.

Kocaelispor won three of their four pre-season games and will be looking to carry that momentum into the new campaign. The sheer gulf in class and quality between the two teams could, however, see the newly-promoted side lose this one.

Prediction: Trabzonspor 2-1 Kocaelispor

Trabzonspor vs Kocaelispor Betting Tips

Tip 1 - Result: Trabzonspor to win

Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Eight of the visitors' last 10 matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)

Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES

About the author

Jedidiah is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda, who has been covering match previews for more than 3 years. Currently pursuing an engineering degree from the University of Ibadan, he conducts thorough research and ensures to be up-to-date with football news across the globe to create the most accurate previews.

A Manchester United fan, Jedidiah fell in love with football and the Red Devils since their UEFA Champions League triumph over Chelsea in 2008. He is a big fan of Robert Lewandowski and his historic performances from 2020, but feels that only Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are capable of replicating the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry. His all-time favorite manager is Carlo Ancelotti due to the Italian's remarkable composure in difficult moments of a contest. Spain's 1-0 win over Netherlands in the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is etched in his memory forever.

A true student of the game, Jedidiah relishes identifying hidden gems from lower-tiered leagues such as the EFL Championship and the Eredivisie. When not creating previews, he likes playing football and reading books.

Know More